


I Need to Talk to You About Something

by TupPillow



Series: The Schmico Chronicles [1]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Coming Out, Family, M/M, coming to terms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 13:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18099107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TupPillow/pseuds/TupPillow
Summary: Levi Schmitt, one week after telling Nico Kim about his mom, decides it's time to come out.





	1. Dinner

Rachel Schmitt was worried. And when she worried, she cooked.

The last time she’d gone to the trouble of making dinner for herself and her son had been weeks ago. Levi’s schedule was crazy. Lately, he hadn’t even been home on his rare off days. “Staying with a friend, Mom,” he’d said. “Closer to the hospital.” When Rachel asked which of his intern friends he was staying with, he wasn’t forthcoming. He’d find a reason to get off the phone, cut the conversation short. “Love, you Mom!” he’d chirp. Then the phone would go silent.

Rachel Schmitt was worried.

Her own schedule at the rehab center had also gone haywire. Two nurses quitting with no notice. As head of nursing, she had to fill in whenever necessary. She had left hospital nursing just to avoid this kind of thing. Now she barely talked to Levi, much less saw him.

Until last night.

He called her just as she was leaving work – late, of course. Almost 11 o’clock. She was exhausted, hungry, angry at Evergreen Rehab and all its bullshit. Then Levi’s number lit up her phone.

“Levi, sweetheart! It’s late.”

“Hey, Mom. Wait – aren’t you at home?”

“No, sweetie. I’ve been covering shifts because of Janice and Pat quitting. I’m walking to my car now –“

“Oh, God, Mom, I’m sorry. Listen, I’ll call you tomorrow –“

Something in the tone of his voice – almost desperate – made Rachel cut him off.

“Levi – what’s wrong?”

“What-? No, Mom, nothing’s –“

“Levi.” Rachel’s mom voice kicked in. “ _Levi_ …”

“Mom.” Levi sounded frightened. She could always tell. His chest tightened and his voice went up a notch. “Mom, I need to talk you. About…something. I really do.” Now he sounded near tears.

“Levi Joshua Schmitt, you tell me right now what’s going on! I mean it! _Are you all right_?”

“Mom, can we have dinner together tomorrow night? Can you –“

“Of course. I’m off tomorrow, but tell me – “

“No, Mom. Not on the phone. Please. Can – would you make brisket?”

Brisket. Levi’s favorite. Rachel squeezed her cell phone involuntarily, as if it would force her son to tell her what was so troubling him that he needed her brisket to talk about it. Rachel took a breath. “Of course, sweetie. Brisket for dinner. What time?”

“Um…I’m off at six tomorrow, so…seven?”

“Seven it is. And bring your laundry home. I bet you're wearing three-day-old underwear.”

“Mom!”

“Just bring it. Is that new backpack working out? It’s not too tight around your shoulders, is it? I think –“

“Mom,” Levi cut her off, with a short laugh. Thank God, he was laughing a bit. “Mom, it’s fine. Really. Listen, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay?”

Rachel took another breath. “Okay, sweetheart. I love you, Levi.”

There was a small silence on the other end. Small, but Rachel noticed. “I love you too, Mom. Bye.” Then the phone beeped, and he was gone.

Now, here she was, finishing the brisket, keeping an eye on her potato pancakes, another of her son’s favorites, looking out the kitchen window at the gathering darkness and worrying.

Was he in some trouble at the hospital? No, that couldn’t be. Levi was fine there. Sometimes his lack of self-confidence might get the best of him, but he was smart, he was so driven – no that wasn’t it.

A girl? Was he involved with some girl? A _shiksa_? No. Anyway, Levi knew that would never bother her. Jewish or not, if Levi had a nice girl in his life, Rachel would be –

Wait. What about a not-so-nice-girl? Someone he’d fallen in with who had trapped him in something. No! Surely her son would be smarter than that. But what if –

Then she heard the front door open. “Hey, Mom!” Levi’s voice floated in from the hall.

“In the kitchen, sweetie,” Rachel called. Now stop it, she said to herself. Stop this crazy. There’s no need to jump –

“Hey.” There he was, her wonderful boy, looking a bit disheveled, but fine. He was fine. He looked tired, but how could he not be? Rachel opened her arms, he stepped forward and she hugged him. Hard. He hugged her back. It was all going to be fine.

But it wasn’t.

All through dinner, Levi seemed elsewhere. She asked about the hospital, about his friends, about – his life. He answered every question, but with little enthusiasm. He dutifully asked her about her schedule, about Aunt Elaine’s foot problems, about – nothing, really. It just seemed awkward. Rachel had never felt awkward with her son before. The tension was palpable, but she didn’t know why.

The brisket was finished, the potato pancakes gone, the spice cake still half-eaten on his dessert plate. Rachel was loading the dishwasher, her back to her son.

“Oh, I told you, didn’t I, about your cousin Gideon going to New York? He got a job with some big financial firm, I can’t remember which, but something big, your Aunt Elaine was just gushing about it, of course it’s wonderful, but sometimes Elaine can –“ Suddenly, she felt Levi’s hand on her shoulder. She started. “Oh! Levi, you came up so quietly! I –“

“Mom.” Levi’s voice was low. “Mom, come sit down, okay? Please? Come sit?”

Rachel Schmitt stared into her son’s eyes. Those beautiful, deep green eyes. There was a pleading in those eyes she had never seen before. Her throat tightened. Levi took her hand and led her back to the kitchen table. They sat.

Levi put his hand over his mother’s. She put her other one over his.

“Sweetie, whatever’s bothering you, whatever it is, you know you can tell me. You know –“

“Mom.” The voice, still low, was now a bit more firm. “Please, just – let me talk, okay?” Levi looked up at her. Rachel felt a small pit of fear start to knot her stomach. Dear God, please, let him be okay, let’s this be okay, I can’t bear it –

“Mom.” Levi squeezed Rachel’s hand. “I’ve met someone. I’ve – Mom – I’m in love.”

Rachel hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath. Now she exhaled with force. “Oh, sweetheart! Oh!” She squeezed his hand in return. “That’s wonderful! Oh, for a minute I thought…oh, who cares what I thought! This is wonderful! I’m so happy for you! What’s her name? Tell me! What’s –“

“ _Mom_.” Levi’s tone was sharp now. Rachel’s smile faded. “Mom, it’s…not a girl. _His_ name is Nico. Mom… I’m gay.”

For a moment, Rachel simply stared at Levi. She had heard the words. But she didn’t know how to respond. The silence lengthened. They gripped each other’s hands. Levi’s face creased into a worried frown. “Mom? Did you hear what I said? I’m gay. And Nico – he’s the man I’m in love with.”

Did the light over the table dim by itself? Did all the sound suddenly vanish from the room? Rachel Schmitt’s senses seemed to have abandoned her. She still felt Levi’s hands in hers, but now they felt cold, almost numb. She was staring into her son’s face, but for one, awful moment, it was as if she couldn’t recognize it.

“Mom, _please_.” Levi was in tears now, his eyes shining with worry and fear. “Say something. _Please_.”

Rachel Schmitt released her son’s hands. She opened her mouth to speak, once, twice, but nothing came out. She folded her hands together, fingers tight. Then she stood up from the table. Levi’s face followed her up, and then he rose too. Rachel unclenched her hands, and slowly cupped her frightened son’s face.

“Let’s go into the living room,” Rachel said slowly. “We need to have a long, long talk.”


	2. The Living Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi Schmitt comes out to his mother, who, in her own way, comes out to him.

Levi Schmitt was dreaming.

It was nice. He was flying, sort of. His hair was blowing in a breeze. He had his hand in someone else’s. Was it Nico’s? He looked, but it was vague, a blur. He felt Nico’s presence, but he couldn’t see him. Where was he? Jesus! Where was he? _Where was –_

The buzzing phone woke him up.

Groggy, he tried to find the phone. It was in his hand, his hand under the couch pillow. Where the hell was he? Then he remembered: the couch; the living room; his mom’s.

Oh, God. The living room.

Finally awake, he pulled the phone from the pillow. Nico. Nico had just called. _For the fifth time._ Fuck!

Levi blinked at the blurry phone. At least he taken his contacts out before he had collapsed on the sofa, after the three-hour “conversation” with his mother. Conversation, right. It had been more like a bad episode of “Dr. Phil.” Too many tears, too many circular explanations, judgments, recriminations. Finally Rachel Schmitt rose heavily from the couch and told her son she was talked-out. She was going to bed. Levi, emotionally and physically spent, couldn’t even make it to the basement door and head down to his room. He had dug his contacts case out of his backpack, shakily managed to pop the lenses out, and then fell back on the sofa into a drained sleep.

The phone started buzzing again. _Fuck!_ Levi swiped the screen.

“Nico! I’m –“

“Babe! Jesus Christ! What’s happened? Where are you?”

“Nico, I’m still at my mom’s. I feel asleep. I’m so, so sorry. I meant to text you –“

“You said you were going over there for dinner! At seven! Do you _know_ what time it is?”

“Uh,” Levi pulled the phone from his face, but the screen was still blurry. No. It couldn’t be…

“Levi! It’s _two-thirty_ in the morning! I got in twenty minutes ago and thought you’d be here. I was scared shitless that something happened to you! _Jesus_ , Levi, I –“

“Nico, I came out to mom tonight.” Levi’s words gushed from him. “I came out to her. After dinner.”

Dead silence.

Then Nico breathed into the phone. “Holy shit,” he said quietly. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Levi said. “I did.”

“Oh…oh, dude, I’m…I’m sorry I yelled, I – how’d it go? Are you okay?”

“I…don’t know. I really don’t. It was…intense.”

“Is she okay?”

“That…remains to be seen.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah. Made the whole series of backpack conversations seem _enjoyable_ in comparison.” Levi tried to laugh at his own lame joke. But then the rush of remembering flooded him. His throat tightened as he tried not to cry. “It was really hard, Nico. It…just sucked.” A small sob pushed out.

“Babe, babe…I’m coming over right now to get you! You just sit tight –“

“Nico, no,” Levi said, almost begging. “I can’t leave now. I can’t have her find me gone in the morning, that’s not right, she’d be so hurt –“

“I’m concerned about _you_ right now.” Nico’s voice was sharp. “Not her. _You_.”

“Babe, no, _please!_ I’ll be okay. I promise.” Levi suddenly realized how loud his voice was. He dropped to a half-whisper. “I don’t want to wake her up, not after everything tonight.”

The living room lights snapped on, startling Levi.

“Too late.” Rachel stood in the doorway, her red quilted robe tied tightly, her arms crossed.

Levi froze. Even without his glasses or contacts, he could see the pain in his mother’s face.

“Levi? Levi? What’s going on?” Nico’s voice on the phone grew more frantic. “Babe? _Babe!_ ”

Levi half-turned from his mother. “Babe, listen. Mom’s…up.”

“What? I’m coming over there!”

“No. _No!_ ” Levi’s soft whisper was insistent. “Get some sleep. I’ll call you in a few.” The phone was silent. “Please.”

“Listen, you’re on shift at eight. _You’ve_ got to get some sleep!”

“I will, I will. I promise!” Levi paused. He turned back to look at Rachel. “I love you,” he said into the phone, a hint of defiance in his voice. ”I. Love. You.”

“I love you, too, babe. Call me if need you anything. I’ll have the phone next to me.” Nico paused. “You’re one fucking brave man, Levi Schmitt. I love you.” The phone beeped off.

Levi stared at screen for minute, then put the phone down on the couch. His mother remained in the doorway.

“So…” Levi began. “You’re…awake.”

Rachel dropped her arms to her sides, a little dramatically, Levi thought. “I’ve been awake for a while.” She slowly walked over to the green velvet side chair, next to the couch. She sat, closed her eyes and put her hands to her face, rubbing her forehead slightly.

“Mom…” Levi started.

Rachel dropped her hands. “Was that…him? On the phone with you?”

“Nico? Yeah. He was worried. I hadn’t – “

“That’s good.” Rachel looked her son, who looked back in some confusion. “Good that someone worries about you, I mean,” she clarified. ”Besides me.”

Without thinking, Levi rolled his eyes. “Mom, come on, can we _not_ do this again? I _know_ how much you worry about me – “

“No,” she cut him off. “No, I don’t think you do. Not really.”

“Mom –“

“ _Levi_.” Rachel’s tone hardened. “I need to say this. So let me say it.” The look on her face silenced Levi. Oh, fuck, he thought, after everything we said tonight, what now? What?

“I’ve had some time to think since we stopped talking before. I wanted to sleep, honestly. Wanted to think this had been a dream. A strange, crazy dream.”

“A…bad dream?” Levi asked quietly.

Rachel paused. “No, sweetheart.” Levi heard the word “sweetheart” and part of his brain relaxed. It was the first time she’d said it since dinner.

“No,” she repeated. “Not bad. We said some things to each other, Levi. Some things that weren’t easy. Or pleasant. For my part…I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way. I would rather die in the street than hurt you, you know that.”

Again, _dramatic_ , Mom, Levi thought. But he liked where this was going. _Maybe_.

“Mom, you don’t have to –“

“But I do. I do.” Rachel rose from her chair and walked to the bookcase behind it. She looked at a photo on the eye-level shelf. A yellowing studio portrait of two young children: a cute, smiling girl, and a goofy, smiling younger boy. Levi knew that photo: it was burned into his brain. But he avoided looking at it any time he walked through the living room. It was too hard. Rachel Schmitt kept looking at the picture for what seemed like forever. When she turned back to her son, tears were running down her cheeks.

“Mom!” Levi jumped from the couch and ran to his mother, but she surprised him by grabbing his shoulders and stopping him in his tracks. She gently shook her head “no,” and guided him back onto the couch. She turned and sat back in the chair.

“Levi,” she said, in voice so low he had to strain to hear her, “a mother’s job – _her most important job_ – is to protect her children.” She took in a deep breath. “When we lost your sister, I swore to God I’d do  everything in my power not to lose you. The thought of losing you, too...it almost made me insane.”

“Mom,” Levi’s cracked voice betrayed his tears. Rachel held up her hand to stop him.

“Let me finish. I know I’ve been over-protective. I know I can be a lot to deal with. But it’s because I love you so much. But I now I think, in trying _not_ to lose you, I managed to lose you in a completely different way. I lost my sense of you _becoming_ you. Of you growing up, and becoming who you are. And who you are is…a gay man. Who has a friend – _boy_ friend,” she corrected herself. “You said that since you’ve met…Nico…you are the most _you_ you’ve felt in your life. I need to accept that.” She shook her head fiercely, to correct herself again. “No, not _accept_. I need to embrace it.”

Levi broke down into sobs. But Rachel continued in her quiet voice.

“Levi, I will never not love you. You are the most important person in my life, and you always will be. But I need to let go. I need to see you as you _are_ , not as a child to be protected, but as a man who has come into his own. The man who makes me as proud of him as the little boy I tried to protect for all those years.”

Levi’s sobs became uncontrollable. He threw his head into his hands, shoulders shaking. Rachel could take it no longer. She rose and scooted onto the couch, and took her son into her arms. Levi’s wails were heartbreaking. She rocked him slowly, letting it all pour out of him. His muffled cries mixed in with “I love you, Mom…I love you Mom…”

“I love you too, Levi. Always.” She kissed the top of her son’s head. Then she drew him away from her. Levi’s tear-ravaged face was red and swollen. She cupped her hands around his cheeks, staring directly into his bleary eyes.

“I want to meet Nico,” Rachel Schmitt said.

And Levi Schmitt thought: _I’m fucking dreaming._

 

 


	3. Sisters Are Important

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi Schmitt and Nico Kim, getting ready to attend a very important dinner, have to navigate the past to get there.

Nico Kim was confused.

His boyfriend was standing in front of him, hugging what looked like an eight-by-ten picture frame to his bare chest. He was not heading to get showered, changed and ready for the dinner that had been two emotional weeks in the making. A dinner that was less than two hours away.

“Uh…hi.” No response. “Babe? What are you doing?” Nico’s question hung in the air between them for a moment.

Levi Schmitt had been looking down at the teak table he was standing next to, as if he was silently asking it something. _This is not a good sign_ , Nico thought. Levi looked up at Nico.

“I…love you. So much. It almost hurts sometimes. I mean, _really hurts_. Like my chest, or my head is going to just…explode.” Levi’s eyes, always the windows to his soul, widened and grew shiny.

Nico smiled, trying to reassure Levi. “Babe, you know I love you, too. And I know what you mean about it almost hurting –“

“I need to talk to you about something,” Levi cut Nico off. Nico frowned.

“Babe, we’re due at your mom’s in a couple of hours. Can’t it wait? You haven’t even showered yet –“

Levi pulled the picture he’d been holding to his chest and put it on the table. He turned it toward Nico. “No,” Levi said quietly, “it can’t.”

Nico’s eyes cut to the picture. It was a yellowed studio portrait, the kind that Sears or Kmart used to sell. Sitting on a counter, with a blue backdrop, were two children: a little girl, smiling broadly, maybe six or seven, holding in her arms a little boy, obviously younger, with goofy, sweet smile of his own.

Nico stared hard at the picture. Then it clicked. “Levi, that’s you! But who’s the other –“

“My sister.” Levi’s voice was low. “That was my sister.”

“Was?” Nico’s chest started to tighten. Levi was silent. _“Was?"_

Levi swallowed, looked back at the picture, then back to Nico. “She’s dead, Nico. She died.” Nico’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping involuntarily.

“And before we sit down to dinner with my mother, you need to know what happened. Because that’s the only way you’ll ever begin to understand her.”

Nico stepped forward, took Levi’s hands into his. “Start from the beginning.”

***

Six week earlier. As Levi haltingly began to tell Nico about his sister, Nico’s mind spun back six weeks. It had been after the New Year’s party at the Karev’s. Nico had been at the nurse’s station on five east, finishing some paperwork. Levi sailed around the corner, saw him, and sidled up to Nico.

“Hey, handsome,” Levi whispered. “Busy?”

Nico gave Levi side-eye, then turned deliberately back to his papers. “No on-call room fun right now,” he said softly. “I’ve got to get this crap finished, and then –“ Nico’s phone chirped a strange ringtone. He frowned, looked at the phone, smirked a bit, then turned it face-down.

“That’s a new tone,” Levi said, fishing for an explanation.

“It’s nothing," Nico said, a bit brusquely. “Just a stupid text from my sister. She’s into these nasty Ivanka Trump memes right now.”

“Wait – what?” Levi’s voice rose half a pitch. “Did you say your _sister?_ ”

“Yeah,” Nico said, “she’s kind of a pain in the ass. I don’t hear from her for weeks, then I get these dumbshit texts out of the blue.”

“ _Nico_.” Levi’s voice was sharp enough that Nico turned to look him. “You never told me you had a sister!”

“Dude, seriously, why would I? I mean, it’s not that important –“

“Yes, it is!” Levi’s voice startled not only Nico, but the two nurses behind the desk, who gave Levi some side-eye of their own. “It _is_ important! Sisters are important!” The color began to rise in Levi’s cheeks. Nico just stared at him. What the actual fuck? Nico thought. He grabbed Levi by the arm and walked him away from the desk.

“Dude, what is your problem? Seriously, what’s happening with you right now?”

Levi shook Nico’s hand off with some force. “You should have told me, Nico. You just…should’ve.” Nico reached for Levi again, but Levi backed away. “I have things to do, too.” Levi wheeled and strode off down the hall.

Nico watched Levi disappear. He turned to look at the nurses at the desk, who looked back at him with blank faces. That was just fucking weird, Nico thought. _Weird_.

***

“It was acute myelogenous leukemia. That’s so rare in kids. She was diagnosed when she was eight, so I would have been five. Lilly started feeling really tired, she said her arms hurt, then her weight suddenly dropped.” Levi kept clenching and unclenching his hands. He and Nico were sitting so close to each other at the table, their knees touched. “Classic symptoms. Mom was working at UW Medical Center then, and she knew something was really wrong. Lilly’s pediatrician, Doctor DiGarmo, he was great. He got Lilly into Seattle Children’s right away. The tests came back, and then we knew.” Levi stopped for a moment. “Well, I mean, my parents knew, and the doctors. I just knew Lilly was sick.”

Nico stroked Levi’s knee. “How much did your parents tell you?”

“I mean, I was five so…not much. Mom would say, ‘Lilly’s got a tummy ache’ or ‘Lilly’s got a headache.’ It wasn’t until the first round of chemo that they tried to tell me how really sick she was.”

“Was your dad still around?” Nico almost never mentioned Levi’s father, because Levi never wanted to talk about him.

“Dad? Yeah…sort of…but they had already separated by then.” Levi looked down at his lap. “He was never _really_  there.”

“Levi –“ Nico started, but Levi cut him off.

“I need to tell you how it ended.”

***

  
She stopped by, in her usual, fuck-you-drop everything-I’m-here mode, the week after Valentine’s Day. Nico got the text right after he came out of a grueling, seven-hour shattered pelvis and femurs surgery, the result of the patient’s motorcycle having had a losing argument with a retaining wall. He was slumped in the fellows lounge when his phone chirped with the Game of Thrones ringtone.

_“ok dr dorkus im down in ur uglyass hospitals recept area get ur ass down here or I tell mom abt ur new nerdy bf”_

_Really?_ Nico thought. Of all the fucking days to do a fucking drive-by, Sunny picks today! Jesus! Nico tapped out an angry reply.

_“wtf you couldnt call first? JUST got out of surgery thanks so much!”_

A moment later:

_“don’t care doofus im due at the airport in 2 hours 2 fly back to SF so NOW or hold ur piece or does the bf do that 4 u?”_

“Bitch!” Nico yelled, startling another fellow named Rogers, who was walking by. He looked at Nico quizzically.

“It’s...nothing.  Just my idiot sister.” Rogers shrugged and walked on.

Then Nico remembered: _Levi._ After the spat they’d had about Nico not saying anything about his sister, he had made Nico promise to introduce them someday. Nico had told him it was unlikely. Sung-min lived in San Francisco, she was always traveling, she never gave Nico any notice if or when she would see him.

And now, Sung-min, aka Sunny Kim, was downstairs, taunting him by text. Nico thought a minute, then swiped to Levi’s number.

 _“hey u wanted to meet sunny. nows ur chance. meet me in 15 main reception.”_ Nico pressed Send. Then he sighed. Fuck this fucking day, he thought. _Just fuck it._

***

“When she turned ten, the doctors at Seattle Children’s said that any further chemo would do more harm than good. That’s when they suggested the bone marrow transplant.” Levi bowed his head, as if the words were too heavy for him. Nico put his forehead gently onto Levi’s.

“And…the transplant failed,” Nico said.

Levi raised his head, his eyes full of tears. “No, we never found a donor that matched.”

“What?” Nico was stunned. “No one in your family? That’s fucking crazy!”

Levi nodded, and took in a shakey sigh. “No one. And Dad…Dad was never tested.”

Nico could not process that. “He… _refused?_ Babe…no. That’s not –“

“We couldn’t _find_ him!” Levi said angrily. “He was supposedly in LA by then. My uncles – his brothers – tried everything to find him.” Levi roughly brushed away his tears. “ _His own daughter!_ What kind of fucking monster disappears when his own daughter is _dying!_ Mom was torn to pieces! She hated him by that point, but he might’ve been the last chance…to _save_ her!” Levi couldn’t hold back any longer. His chest heaved and he crumpled into a ball.

In one swift motion, Nico grabbed his boyfriend in his arms, picked him up and carried him to the futon across the room. Two weeks before, it had been Rachel holding Levi, rocking him and trying to comfort him. Now Nico did the same. He held Levi’s head to his chest as Levi sobbed out his anger and grief. The room was filled with anguished crying, along with a deep, soothing voice repeating, “Oh, baby, baby, I’m so sorry, baby…,” as the sky over Seattle turned dark.

***

“Ooh. You look so…doctor-y.” Sunny Kim’s smirk was as cutting as her words.

Nico closed his eyes. _So…over…this_ , he thought to himself.

“Hey!” Sunny’s voice forced Nico’s eyes open. “So, where’s the _boyfriend_?” Sunny drew out the word with cheerful contempt. “I mean, he works here, right? Like, as a doctor or something?”

“ _Yes_ , he works here, Sun. As a _doctor._ ” Nico’s voice was sharp. “Why the hell are you here? Seriously?”

“ _What?"_ she replied in mock surprise. “Can’t a girl visit her doctor dorkus brother without a reason?” Sunny drew her fingers through her pink-streaked black hair in feigned innocence.

“Doctor – _dorkus_?" Levi’s amazed voice made Nico and Sunny spin around. Levi had walked up from behind without them noticing.

“And here he is! Wow, you’re a pocket gay, aren’t you?” Sunny’s cheerful voice sliced through the reception area like a knife. “So cute! Do you need a ladder to climb my dumb giraffe brother? Or is that too personal?”

Levi’s initial smile curdled on his face. He turned to Nico in stunned amazement. Nico sighed.

“Schmitt, meet my sister, Sunny. The least aptly-named woman on the planet.” Nico leaned over and whispered in Levi’s ear, “Remember, dude, _you_ wanted this.”

“Schmitt! Oh, that’s _perfect!_ ” Sunny cooed. “ _Schmittens!_ That’s what I’ll call you!”

“Please don’t,” Levi deadpanned.

“Like mittens you can put in your pocket! Small, and cute…,” Sunny's eyes cut down to Levi’s v-neck scrub shirt, “…and furry.” Sunny squinted at Levi. “Looks like, _very_ furry. Ugh. Okay.“ Her eyes cut back to Nico, “If you’re into that. Which I guess you are.”

Nico looked balefully at his sister. Suddenly, he shot out a furiously whispered torrent of Korean. Levi didn’t understand any of it, of course, but the tone was very clear. Sunny snapped back with her own stream of whispered Korean, her tone matching her brother’s. Then they both spoke simultaneously, the Korean coming so fast it sounded like a hushed train speeding by.

“Uh, hello?” Levi raised his hand. “Still here.”

Sunny turned. “Yeah, that’s great for you.” She turned back to Nico. “You need to call them. Mom won’t tell me, and Dad…well, whatever. The parental units want to talk to _you_.”

“Fine.” Nico’s phone beeped. He glanced at the screen. “I have to go.” He smirked at his sister. “Have a nice flight back to San Francisco. Are you going by plane or broom?” _That_ made Levi’s mouth fall completely open.

Sunny smiled, then raised her middle finger to Nico. “Love you too, dorkatron.” She turned to Levi, and pointed a slim finger with a dangerously sharp, bright-orange nail at the end. “Take care of giraffe-boy,” she said vehemently. “Against my better nature, I kinda like him.” Then she was gone, out the door, her pink and black hair swirling behind her.

Nico and Levi stood together, watching her go. Levi turned to Nico and started to speak, but Nico leaned over him first.

“And, dude, _if you_ _ever_ call me ‘doctor dorkus,’ ‘ _Schmittens_ ’ will be all over this place in five minutes!” Nico spun and stomped off toward the staff elevators. Levi stared at Nico’s back, and then called out, “How about _giraffe-boy?"_  Nico raised his hand and flipped Levi off without breaking stride.

  
***

  
  
The room had gone quiet, finally. Levi still clung to Nico’s neck. Nico gently pulled Levi away, and kissed his forehead. “Babe,” Nico said softly. Levi’s eyes fluttered open. “Babe,” Nico repeated.

Levi pulled away from Nico, rubbing his face. “I’m sorry, Nico. I’m so sorry –“

“Don’t be, baby. Ever.” Nico gently brushed the matted hair from Levi’s face. “It’s terrible what happened to your family. I can’t imagine dealing with that as a kid.”

“I was eight when she died,” Levi said, his voice flat and drained. “Mom held her grief inside, so it wouldn’t scare me. She cried one time, at the funeral. Then she took me in her arms and told me everything was going to be all right. And from that that point till now, she’s done everything in her power to make it all right. For me.”

Nico’s fingers slowly brushed Levi’s cheeks. Levi suddenly grabbed Nico’s hand.

“Listen, do you understand now why I freaked when you told me you had a sister?”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, I do. Now.”

Levi squeezed Nico’s hand with surprising strength. “Listen to me, Nico. I know you think Sunny is smart-ass bitch. I know she constantly tries to cut you down. But I know – _I know_ – that underneath all that phony sarcastic shit, she loves you. She _cares_ about you. And you love her, too. Maybe you don’t want to admit it, but you do.”

“Yeah,” Nico said softly. “I do.”

Suddenly, Nico’s phone purred a reminder tone in his pants pocket. He pulled it put out, and looked at the screen, frowning.

“Uh, babe,” Nico said to Levi, turning the screen to him, “We have exactly thirty minutes to get to your mom’s.”  
 

***

Nico Kim was anxious.

Standing with Levi at Rachel Schmitt’s door, all he could think of was how it could all go wrong. After everything that had happened in the past two weeks – hell, the past two _hours_ – Nico’s head was a swirl of worst-case scenarios.

“Hey.” Levi’s soft voice cut through the noise in Nico’s head. Nico looked at Levi. He was staring at Nico with equal parts of love and concern. “Are you okay, babe?”

Was he? Okay? _Fuck if I know_ , Nico thought.

“Hey,” Levi said again, running his right hand up Nico’s left shoulder. “She’s going to love you. Because _I_ love you. And she loves _me_.” Nico smiled.

“Just one big lovefest, huh? Sounds pretty cheesy.”

“Shut up,” Levi said softly. His hand went from Nico’s shoulder to his neck, caressing it.

The front door flew open, startling them both.

Rachel Schmitt stood in the doorway, smiling.

“And here they are!” she said. She looked at Levi, then to Nico. She smiled again. _Say something_ , _doctor_ _dorkus!_ Nico thought to himself savagely. He smiled tightly.

“Mrs. Schmitt, it’s so good to finally meet you –“

“ _Rachel_. Please, Nico, call me Rachel. Can you do that for me?”

Nico’s smile broadened. “Sure, Rachel. I can do that for you.”

“Mom?” Levi cut in, his voice tentative. “Thanks for letting me borrow this.” He extended his left hand, which held an eight-by-ten photo frame.

Rachel turned to Levi, and slowly took the picture from him. She looked down at the yellowed photo for moment. Then she looked up, directly at Nico.

Nico knew, at that moment. He reached out and put his right hand on Rachel Schmitt’s shoulder. Their eyes locked. Then Rachel put her left hand of top of Nico’s.

Nico Kim was no longer anxious. Or confused. Or worried. And he knew it wasn’t a dream.

Levi Schmitt, his chest and head about to explode, took Nico’s left hand in his. The moment was silent.

Then Rachel shook her head. “Okay, come on! I’ve got food ready and waiting. Come!” she commanded.

Levi and Nico, hand in hand, slipped past Rachel into the house. Rachel could hear their laughter trailing behind them. She looked at the picture in her hand. If Levi and Nico had still been there, they would have heard her speak softly to the yellowed photograph.

“He’s okay, Lilly. He picked a good one. He’s okay.” She clasped the picture to her chest.

Then Rachel Schmitt turned, squared her shoulders and went into the house, closing the door quietly behind her.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the length of this chapter. I tried cutting it. But Nico, Levi, Sunny and Rachel wouldn't let me.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm new at fanfics, although not new at writing. Comments are welcome!
> 
> I don't quite know why Schmico has captured me. But captured me they have.


End file.
